Out of the Box Impression: Ruger’s Precision Rimfire Rifle

Nothing, I mean NOTHING, upsets me more than to point a rifle at something, get a site picture, depress the trigger, and the projectile doesn’t go reasonably close (say within an inch) to the point of aim. Even if the rifle in question is a .22 caliber rifle.

I had such a rifle; a Ruger 10-22 that a former military team member of mine had taken it and completely tuned a stock 10-22 internally – basically refined the trigger pull down to about 2.5 to 3 lbs, replaced the extractor with a match grade replacement, put a new recoil buffer in the receiver, ensured there were no burrs on the crown, and ensured the cheap Tasco 4 power scope and it’s equally cheap mounts were solid, and wouldn’t cause an issue.

Sounds funny, right? This thing kept a group of 4 to 6 inches at 200 meters, depending on who was shooting it and what kind of ammo it had. I loved that rifle. So did my daughter. It was the only firearm she’d shoot. I had it for 20 years. Put thousands of rounds through it; killed innumerable rodents with it. And, when the time came, I gifted it to her son, who’s now 8 year and already shooting a “cricket” bolt gun. Basically, as she thought of it as ‘hers’, it made sense to keep it in her family.

Then, I was without a .22 for 5 years, because something was holding me back on simply replacing that 10-22.

About 3 months ago, I was again in the mood to peruse the .22’s out there, as I wanted to have one in my stable, and start shooting .22’s again. It’s also always nice to have your own rifle when you go to the range with the grandkids. Well, Sir, I saw this Ruger Precision Rimfire on some woman’s social media site saying that ‘nobody needs a gun like this’….right away I could tell that A: It was a BOLT gun, B: was a .22, and C: as usual, the SJW’s didn’t have a CLUE as to what they’re talking about. She immediately became a laughing stock among the shooting community.

However, I wanted to see the specs of that rifle up close. So, off I go to Ruger’s site. Impressive, but basically, while true, the information was pointed at generating sales. So, off I go to gunbroker.com to see what the prices were….it’s modeled after their ‘Precision Rifle’ with much of the same features, but in .22LR, so I didn’t know what to expect, being that its big brother goes for north of $800. It IS sweet, though!

Locally, believe it or not, they’re not that easy to find! I called and looked and looked and called, and one gunshop told me after I asked if they were expecting anymore, said, “Yes, and we should get some as soon as Ruger steps up production.” (Ruger, are you getting this?) You can find them at http://www.gunbroker.com , but you’re going to pay more than the typical $399 pre-tax price. Some are at auction and are going for upwards of $450, sometimes higher.

I found a listing that said, “$399 or Best Offer.” I put my offer in and secured it for $385. I was tickled, being that you’ve got to add in shipping and transfer fees. Shipping brought it to $410 (less than I would have paid at a retail store in my area after taxes. It took a week, but it arrived yesterday, and the transfer fee was only $20 (the guy gives CPL holders a break). $430 out the door. At local shops who were charging $399, after tax it was $424, and I didn’t have to wait until they came in or spend as much time/gas going to pick it up!

Taking it Out of the Box

My being pleasantly surprised at the out of the box quality would be an understatement!

Packaging: Nicely cut out foam cut close enough and fitted well so that nothing could slide around in the box. Good job, Ruger!

Balance/Feel: Feels heavier than 6.8 pounds, but I believe that’s due to balance, which is very nice. Sits solid in your hands, holds nicely when taking up an offhand position.

Bolt: Not stiff; adjustable throw, allowing the shooter to remove a clip from the bolt and allow the bolt to move the distance much like a large caliber bolt gun.

Trigger: Adjustable down to 2.5 pounds; mine measured just a tad over 3 lbs. I didn’t see a need to adjust it.

My personal additions: Put a Leupold integral one-piece tactical base and rings (low), a Vortex 1-6 Strike Eagle (there’s a program out there that will let you convert the ballistics of your chosen round to match the reticle), and a Harris bi-pod for prone shooting.

Ammo Choice: I bought a brick of SK Match (spendy, but from all reports will hold from 1/4 to 1/2 inches at 50 meters, sometimes better depending on the shooter and the rifle – we’ll see when range day comes). I plan on using this for ‘whistle pigs’ out West, and it has to be accurate when we get into one of their towns.

Well, that’s it for the ‘Out of the Box’ Review. Further reports once I get out shooting. There are a lot of youtube (maybe….if they haven’t dumped them all) showing it’s accuracy.

“Whistle pigs”? Wow, I haven’t heard that in eons. That’s what we called groundhogs here in Western PA when I was a kid. The first time I ever heard it I was about five or six. When I asked why he called them that my Uncle Dave said that if you whistle they will sit upright and look around to see where the sound came from. A number of years later when I was old enough to hunt I tried it out. Damned if he wasn’t right………………..

I used to teach long range shooting and one thing that many shooters overlook, especially rimfire, is the importance of velocity control. Ammo can shoot very well at 50 yards and then begin vertical stringing as ranges (and flight times) increase and the velocity variations begin to show. Some .22 LR match ammo that shot well at close range showed over 18″ of vertical stringing at 400 yards and I’ve found that if one isn’t spending $12-15 or more for a box of 50, you’re not getting the potential from your long range precision rimfire. BTW, from a 75 yard zero with sub-sonic ammo, the elevation adjustment to 400 yards is 73 moa.

Thanks for stopping by and for the information! My first time shooting it will be (after zero) at 100 yards at my local range. I’ll put up a post (hopefully with pics) on the results. I’ll be using SK Rifle match.

Interested to see your results. I’ve shot 22 F-Class competition for about 8 years now using a CZs, 452, 453 and lately a suppressed 455 Tacticool. 100yd groups are usually less than 1 inch shooting 10rd strings of fire with Wolf Match Target ammo (same as SK).

I’m no competitor, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about the CZ. I’ll take some pics and put up on a follow up post to this one. Hopefully, the rifle is more capable than I am! 🙂 I’ll be interested to see the SK’s results against a couple other that I have….

My hope is you have as much fun with this rifle as I do my Savage BTVS-.22. This was my Dream Rifle and I love shooting it more than any in my ‘arsenal’ (got to chuckle at that– antis would claim I don’t need all those guns). So far have only worked up to 300 yards, need to get the 400 yard come-ups so I’m somewhat competitive in our club’s Precision (Tactical) .22 shoots. Tried a dozen brands of ammo and thus far, RWS is shooting best, giving me 3/8 inch groups at 75 yards, holding to just under an inch (like 7/8s) at a hundred. Yes, I know: I neeeeeeeeed more practice! 😀

I 2nd the CZ’s approval, I have several and none of them are a disapointment in accuracy category. For a compact lightweight CZ choice, the Scout was particularly good. For low report, the longer Ultralux (28 1/2″ barrel) is really quiet, particularly with SV ammunition. CZ are available with 5 and 10 round magazines, fwiw.

Thanks for the review of the Ruger – the standard RAR I hear is a good one to consider too.

I love shooting rimfires a lot.
Strange as it may sound to you but my very best results I got from my trusty old TOZ 78-04, a Russian no-nonsense rifle (no gimmicks, no tacticool stuff). I shot out to 300 meters onto a 15 by 15 centimeters gong and hitting at least three times out of five which was remarkable considering I had maxed out the vertical travel of my scope and used Kentucky holdoff for the rest of the distance.
A year ago I got me a .22lr ISSC SPA Tactical Ultimate which was fine until I read about the RPR. I couldn’t get it out of my mind so just three days ago I ordered that rifle along with many other enthusiasts at Austria Arms. The first delivery to Austria is due in about four weeks so I will be one of the first enjoying this rifle .

Good Afternoon and thank you for the post. I am no expert. I am not associated with nor do I have any interest in any products, services or vendors. Best prices I have seen is KY gun co.
Liberty and Lead has applied improvements to a Ruger rimfire bolt, may work for the precision/chassis version (see adventures in Rimfire), they report bolt actions do not require the mag spring tension that self feeders do and reducing torque on 10 rnd magazine; schematic here https://www.heypete.com/pete/shooting/rugermag.html ,
Torque of both barrel to action screws and stock to action screw(s) is critical. Search forums for info on barrel to action (hint 10/22 = 10 in/lbs), torque driver required, for stock to action screw(s) the toque driver and time for many 5 shot groups at your chosen distance, start by cleaning, de-bur, of all contact surfaces and removal of all pinch/binding points in the stock, including removal of stock material around the barrel for free float (note: paper/dollar bill test is not enough room and as barrel heats up contact will occur), re-assemble and torque action screw(s) to 12-15 in/lbs and do 5 shot group, then increase torque 2 in/lbs (start low and go up until smallest groups are achieved (your choice to exceed mfr torque specs), keep going until groups begin to open up, stop, then back down to previous (smallest group size) setting, repeat process in the narrowed range by performing fine adjustments 1/2 in/lb increments, Example best coarse adjustment groups identified at 20-22 in/lb, now repeat fine adjustment at 20.5, 21, 21.5, 22 in/lb again identify smallest group=sweet spot). For models with more than 1 action screw torque back to front, start with both screws at the same torque setting using process above, then repeat for fine adjustments as above, then repeat process using only front screw, repeat for fine adjustment. Do not assume your system will perform optimally with both action screws torqued identically.
Note wood stocks will not tolerate over torqued screws and wood fibers will crush, rendering the wood permanently damaged (see mfr max torque settings).
Wheeler fat wrench is popular and in two models- analog and digital, digital has an audio alarm for torque rather than a break-over/limiter, more difficult for use audio alarm stop point is subjective and less precise.
Forums (Rimfire central, Snipers Hide) may provide general info to save time on torque range ideas, but don’t assume your instrument will perform in a similar manner to anyone else,
For those with 10/22 I strongly suggest CPC for re-work, it is by far the most cost effective improvements that can be made http://www.ct-precision.com/ in a world of bolt on parts, CPC provides skilled craftsmanship and a trade that once made this country the greatest in the world but is now nearly extinct.
Most factory 10/22 receivers have the barrel hole out of alignment and are 3-7 MOA off, some more, some less, most to the left but some in other directions. 10/22 may benefit from a shim under action screw (rubber, plastic or foam tape) install first then 5 shot groups as above until sweet spot is determined.
Note best ammo at 25 or 50 yds might not be best at 75 /100 and beyond.
For reference 22LR trajectory at 300 yds closely approximates 308 at 1000 yds, vast majority of ranges are 300 yds or less.
Firing pin contact location and depth in the case (10/22 problem) along with Isolating vibrations so the system performs consistently and the bullet leaves the chamber and exits crown in same contact pattern, speed, and spin, each and every time.

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